About

Me Me Me, so who am I?

Level 2 answers: (if you like BIO style) I moved to Washington DC in 2006 from Lyon, France. I always loved drawing and visual design, I started photography in 2002, capturing birthdays and personal travels. I really got serious about it in 2009 when I bought my first SLR. The need to "play" with depth-of-field, light/shadows and fun compositions was becoming too strong. Did you ever come across a painting/image and just stopped? It just made you stop and think (What? Why? How?... etc...). That's what I like. Self-taught in Art (my masters are in Science and Business) I love reading and most of my background in Photography comes from there. I also gained great knowledge from photographer friends and from being a model.

Level 4 answers: (if you went trough level 3 you can do level 4 ;-) I think the goal in life is to pluck up the roses while they're blooming... while seeding for the next harvest. I'm convinced that things and people are not black or white, but infinite shades of grays, and sometimes bright orange. I always thought I could draw, but somehow spent my childhood studying sciences. I'm really really good at summarizing and structuring a complex process or situation. I'm usually aware of my image but not over concerned of it, authentic is something too rare. I personally believe that "Act the Noble" is the key to happiness... and it avoids lots of stressful time-wasting drama. People seem to see me as a great guy, low-key, benevolent and dependable, but not to mess with.

My Vision

My Photography

It's always useful to stop and think why we do what we do. What's photography for me?

Photography is LEGACY. Capturing and giving memories and emotions back is very satisfying to me. It's like giving people a piece of themselves, how beautiful their are, a piece of their own life experience. Because everybody smiles while browsing images of loved ones and fond moments.Photography is EXPRESSION. It's a great way to express myself and show my life experience and vision to others. They say your images are a mirror and a reflection of how you see things. Telling story is also fun, encourage curiosities to open up and discover outside our small bubbles.Photography is CHALLENGE. Okay that's geeky but I like playing with images and trying to master complex techniques. Having a camera is also a way to be able to do things you wouldn't do without a camera, like talking to this stranger or starring 15 min at this butterfly to get it aligned with this very flower. Some think that when having the camera people are not really taking part of the moment, nothing is falser to me. It's a very pro-active process, you have to be "on", to "see" what's in front of you and connect with the moment to foresee what's going to happen next. I also love how it forces you to show the focus on your images, because there should always be a focus in life.Photography is BEAUTY. That might be the ultimate reason. Inspire and show the joy, the beauty of the world. Escape the reality with the freedom to create whatever you want more beautiful than it is at first sight, sometimes it takes only a crop, a focus point or a change of lightning to trigger the magic and reveal the bare pure dreamy perfection you envision. I also think Beauty/Sexy is subjective and not linked to physical assets, it's barely a result of self-confidence, I love to capture that in people. Everybody gives their best when they feel their best.Photography is BUSINESS. I invest a lot of time (learning, coordinating, covering, post-production), money (those lenses are soooo expensive) and energy in my photography. To make it sustainable this needs to fly on its own, if passion is the engine, finance is the fuel :)

My Style

I strive to bring my images to picture:

FUN: What I prefer in photography is photojournalism, catching the moment, the energy and the emotion. Life is good. Let's show and enjoy the "Now".FRESH: My modeling experience taught me, beside studio lightning techniques, how to add a fashion/editorial twist to my images. Something new and surprising.CLEAN: Even if I use photoshop sometimes, I usually like my pictures to look like pictures. That said I'm always up to get inspiration from classic masters or latest trends.CONNECTED: Because Emotion trump Technic. It's always in the eyes and the touch. Geeky side: PC. Adobe. Canon. Google Technically I like natural light, and try to shoot as wide-open as I can (not scared of f1.2). I shoot raw and process in Lightroom. A good picture to me has an ultra-focus somewhere and a line (from composition or lightning) making the eye scan the image.

My Purpose

You're Fabulous. Yes, you are.So Be Bold. I oppose dull and pessimist. Life is far too short for that. Enjoy it now.And Cherish Life. I have the dream that everyone can store all that happiness and pride of our best life moments, loved ones, work craft, and own uniqueness, for ourselves and to pass along.I love to bring that to people, we all deserve it.Now and Forever. We are all visual creatures. I believe photography is a magical art that makes people, moments and things unique, emotional, and beautiful... forever. All those things that makes who we are as persons, they can be all captured at their best with the right images.

Hiring Right

Why Hiring a Professional?

I know, Uncle Bob or BFF Samantha have a great camera and could cover the event or shoot a headshot. But: GEAR-CONTROL: a good photographer can do better shots with an iPhone than regular people with high-end cameras. EXPERIENCE: a good photographer knows to foresee what's gonna happen, and adjust to the different situation (try to follow a bride for a day, it's a sport). DEDICATION: a good photographer will keep focus on the assignment. Let your guests enjoy the event. CONSISTENCY: a good photographer, like anyone, can be sick or "out" on a day, but the good practices are deep rooted and he/she can "perform" anyway.

5 Reasons to hire Denis

1. COMPOSITION KICK-ASS STYLE = You browsed my site and like the style of my images (well... hopefully) BROAD RANGE = I have a good knowledge of several photography types (details, people, real-estate, events, wedding, studio and natural-light), that gives me a sweet spot for event/wedding assignments. My modeling experience taught me a few things on posing and putting people in the best angle. YOU-APPEAL = Listening is everything. If the client likes "fun" or "romantic" I'll definitely work on different images. I shoot for you.

2. TECHNIQUE TOP-SHELF GEAR = full-frame SLR, full range of fast-glass primes lenses, on- and off- camera flash for all situations and highest technical quality. LIGHT UNDERSTANDING = It's all about the light. My signature is using bounced light to create flattering angles and avoid direct flash that burn the subjects or don't ignite the background. MANUAL MODE = Most of the people shoot on automatic or semi-automatic mode, there the camera makes all the decisions. And the very goal of the camera is to get as much focus as possible (not targeted) and with a middle-grey overall exposure. Even with high-end cameras this lead to uninteresting images. And more worrying, this doesn't work well with extreme situations (bride on light background, strong cast lightning, low-light...). I shoot all manual and think each picture individually.

3. POST-PRODUCTIONQUICK TURNAROUND = I'm proud to say I shoot pretty "clean". This means that I think hard before every shot (white-balance, exposure, depth-of-field...) that allows me to spending minimum time editing. It is not rare that I can deliver edited images within 24h depending on the assignment. SOCIAL MEDIA INTEGRATION = I'm all online. I understand the online buzz has to be rid when it's up. I can upload directly the event images on your Facebook organization page. PHOTOSHOP PROFICIENT = most of the time I use Photoshop very little and always with a lot of caution, but I'm fully proficient with it.

4. BUSINESS PROFESSIONALISM = I'm reliable, pretty reactive, present well and can adjust/stay invisible during events. On another matter I have a personal liability for event coverage (mandatory for a lot of venues) . SIMPLE USE = Most photographer attract people with low session fees but charge expensive prints. All my assignments come with high-resolution files and Personal Use license. You can either order directly prints/canvas/merchandising from your gallery or download the files and order wherever you want. PERSONALITY = I'm out-going and fun (and gay), it's important to "fit" in an event or "click" with people.

5. SUPER-POWER I'm French, it's supposed to be a label of Class, Openness and High Quality, isn't it? ;-)